Found answer to my overheating problems...Good Info

[tb]

For the past 6 months my temps have been 200..With the a/c on it would climb up to 240..I purchased a new STANT 180 degree thermostat...I heated up a pan of water and the thermostat did not open until the water water was boiling...Very strange..I decided to go ahead and install the thermostat..Took the car around the block and temps went up to 205...The car would still overheat..I inspected my 3 core radiator and could not find anything wrong with it..The waterpump is only 1 year old...I decided to do a test, I removed the thermostat and ran the car...It ran very cool (170-175 degrees)...This is a good thing...It has never ran this cool with absolutely no detonation...The power felt very good. Tomorrow, I will buy a 160 thermostat and see what happens, but first I will test it in a pan of hot water...In my opinion, STANT thermostats are very unpredictable...I hope the 160 will keep the temps at 180 degrees...

I do not understand why I can go into any car parts store and find only STANT thermostats....In my opinion, they are not very good...I think someone could make millions by competing against them and making a quality thermostat...Maybe I will try the Autozone brand...If anyone is having overheating problems, try running your car without a thermostat and see what happens..Good Luck..

[jwboner]

Mr Gasket makes thermos that they say open up closer to the degree they are supposed to. I run one, a 160, and during the winter it stays exactly at 160. During summer it may go to 180 depending on the ambient outside temp. I stopped using stant, would rather run nothing, but can't during winter. Good luck

[Dark Knight]

Robert Shaw thermostats are supposed to be really nice too.. I think you can get them at autozone. http://www.speedtweaks.net/robertshaw.htm

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84 convt,'95 302,AFR's, performer
3.55's, underdrives BBK shorties
stock cam, 1.7's
13.85@102.5
and a '68 stang that WAS nasty ;-)

[SHaFT7]

i run a robert shaw, cost me $12 and has a lifetime warranty

its a 190, and it keeps my car @ 195-200 all the time except in extreme heat, which it will go up to 210 sometimes

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SHaFTed

91GT, 2 chamber flows, dumps, 70MM BBK TB, K&N conical, Robert Shaw tstat, Hurst short throw, T5, 17" Lexani Roma wheels, 235/40/R17 on front, 255/45/R17 on back, mach1 hood, LX tail lights, bright red!

[tb]

UPDATE!!!

I went to Autozone this morning and I bought two RobertShaw thermostats..A 160 and a 180 degree..With my meat temperature indicator, I put the 160 in the pan of water and turned on the heat..It started to open right at 160..The 180 also opened up at 180 degrees...Since I live in Texas and it is 101 degrees today, I decided to put in the 160..I ran the car for most of the day with the a/c on and the temperature never rose above 195...Without the a/c it runs at 180..This is just what I wanted!!! I will save the 180 degree thermostat for the winter...I can't believe I have been fighting this for so long and it was a simple fix to begin with..I almost went out and bought an aluminum radiator..Glad I saved my $300...I highly recommend the RobertShaw thermostat from Autozone..Works great!!! I am no longer worried about driving my car in hottest part of the day with the a/c on..

[84LX89GT]

Wow that's crazy! I had no idea stant thermostats were that bad. My previous auto teacher at college told me that at best stant thermostats are unpredictable. I've always bought them and never had problems.... i'll hesitate to ever buy one again though now, especially after hearing your problems tb. I'm glad you got that figured out tb!

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previous name: 84stangLX
'84 Mustang 5.0 LX
my LX
'89 Mustang GT
my GT

[1SILLYGT]

Good info TB. I too have been having some cooling problems lately. I was running my car with no thermostat for a while and it was having no problem staying cool. I recently put in a stant 160 thermostat and my car has been running very hot. I think ill try the robertshaw

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90 GT shorty headers, flowmaster exhaust, off-road h-pipe, 3.73 gears, hurst short throw shifter, GT-40 heads

[91evilstang]

Your problem sounds exactly like mine , 160 thermostat(stant) and my car is lucky to see 190 and with the ac on ive seen it hit 240(ouch)ive replaced my stock radiator with a 3 core modine my clutch and fan blade(cause it was cracked and i figured the new clutch might grenade it)my stock water pump was replaced and all to little avail.immediately after reading your post i called auto zone and they have the robert shaw for $6 i am planning on getting one tonight hope it does the trick.great info!

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91GT Flowmaster 2 chambers,off road H pipe,mac equalength headers,F303 cam,high lift valve springs ,svo 1.6 roller rockers,19*timing,410's,BBK cold air kit,hurst shifter, Pullys,World class T5 MSD 6al box. Ran 13.5@101 with stock headers and air box.

[moosejaw]

I was in the same boat. I defaulted back to a stock Ford thermo. Guess what, not only was the opening larger than any aftermarket thermo it was also of better construction.

After installation the temps were completely under control. The "195" runs at 180 at the front of the block near the thermo. Usually runs about 160 at the back of the block. With the AC on temps will drift up only when stationary i.e. idling or traffic jams.

The Ford thermo is superior to any after market thermo I have ever used. Sometimes we shouldn't try to re-invent the wheel.

Mike

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Live near St.Louis?
Check out Mustang Muscle and Dyno in High Ridge, MO
Check out my ride.

[Stang_ROTY]

I'm gonna try a Ford or Mr. Gasket thermo and replace the Black Majic electric fan with a Flex-Fan and shroud. I've been having the same problem as you all have had.